Changes that Senior divers make?

[The Chairman]

My diving has slowed down, some to age and some to not fully recovering from breaking my tibia and fibula in Fiji about two years ago. I go on Medicaid next year and will have these plates removed once for all. The tingling has got to go!

When I turned 50 I went on NitrOx for all dives, even in the pool when I was teaching. I built a cart for my SM tanks, but really, I just dive a much lighter rebreather with tri-mix instead. I might do some incidental deco, but I don't need deep and long anymore.

 

[bjd001]

Nitrox on every dive and making sure I stay in shape. (I work out with a personal trainer via Zoom three times a week. Doing squats with 60 lbs means I can crawl out at Monastery Beach in Monterey, stand up, and walk up the hill back to the car pretty easily.)

I just turned 60 and most of my buddies can't keep up with me!

I'm the one who's always up for another dive, but during my last 5-dives-a-day trip I decided that maybe, just maybe, I don't have to do every dive every day...

 

[ofg-1]

"Sure, I've gotten old. I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, new knees... I've fought prostate cancer and diabetes. I'm half blind, can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine, and take 40 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts. I have bouts with dementia, poor circulation, hardly feel my hands or feet anymore, can't remember if I'm 85 or 92, but... thank God, I still have my Florida Driver's License"

Red Buttons

 

[Centrals]

Next time they ask for tea, reply with “Lemon?” casually

If the tea is weak then I might take lemon otherwise it has to be fresh milk.
Never ever ask "te con leche" in Spain.

 

[Wibble]

If the tea is weak then I might take lemon otherwise it has to be fresh milk.
Never ever ask "te con leche" in Spain.

Nor in France where a surly waiter will eventually give you a glass cup containing tepid water and a separate 'Liptons' teabag that seems to be for the tea equivalent of homeopathy.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I’m 56 and in pretty good shape. I’ve made the following changes:

• I no longer tech dive. I was never a hard core tech diver so that wasn’t a hard change to make. The joy/benefit of it no longer justified the risk, cost & hassle to me.
• I broke down my doubles and solely dive a single HP100 often times with a pony bottle.
• I dive Nitrox on all dives.
• I focus on my diet and fitness more intently.
• I pay attention to my body. When it tells me to back off, I listen.
• I let myself rest & recover without feeling guilty. Taking an afternoon nap after two morning dives is not a sin. Rather it’s now a pleasure I’ve come to enjoy.

 

[SlugLife]

I’m 56 and in pretty good shape. I’ve made the following changes:

• I no longer tech dive. I was never a hard core tech diver so that wasn’t a hard change to make. The joy/benefit of it no longer justified the risk, cost & hassle to me.
• I broke down my doubles and solely dive a single HP100 often times with a pony bottle.
• I dive Nitrox on all dives.
• I focus on my diet and fitness more intently.
• I pay attention to my body. When it tells me to back off, I listen.
• I let myself rest & recover without feeling guilty. Taking an afternoon nap after two morning dives is not a sin. Rather it’s now a pleasure I’ve come to enjoy.

(not senior) If diving is not fun, I have little reason to dive. Therefore, might as well keep it fun and not overcomplicate it. I'll probably get into technical diving at some point but only to unlock possibilities, and not for some ego-trip. Right now my primary focus is mostly around simplifying diving and making it easier or safer.

Just as a tiny example, I was doing a mostly practice/skills dive other other day, and skipped the wetsuit (less stuff to rinse & dry after), stayed above 20ft (warmer, reduced air-consumption, more time & no safety-stop), and took a super-casual pace (reduced cramp risk, lower-air consumption, more relaxing). I surfaced with above 2500 psi in each tank, and would have been able to dive for hours if the weather cooperated.

Once I'm competent at side-mount, I'm likely to move to 1x80 & 1-pony tank. Or 2x 40s, if I build my own fill station.

 

[Cap335]

As I have gotten older the first thing I stopped using was my drysuit. I try to dive nitrox on every dive. For the most part limit my dives to no deco dives.

 

[Tippytoes12]

Not yet a senior diver, but have been amazed at how much better I feel not drinking alcohol at all on a dive trip and using Nitrox where it is available. We usually dive in warm waters on holiday from the UK. Sadly we are effectively unable to dive in our favourite destinations, The Maldives, Egypt, the Philippines and Indonesia due to Covid.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Not yet a senior diver, but have been amazed at how much better I feel not drinking alcohol at all on a dive trip and using Nitrox where it is available. We usually dive in warm waters on holiday from the UK. Sadly we are effectively unable to dive in our favourite destinations, The Maldives, Egypt, the Philippines and Indonesia due to Covid.

Maldives and Egypt are open. Is it just your personal choice not to go?